Miami Dolphins' have the Pittsburgh Steelers to thank for this season's playoff berth.
Right when fans had thrown in the towel on the 1-4 Dolphins, who had been manhandled the previous week in a 30-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the victory over the Steelers pumped life back into Miami's season.
The Dolphins' 30-15 home win over the Steelers provided the blueprint for the final 10 games of the regular season.
The offensive line finally got healthy, and Miami rode that unit to its first of many dominant rushing performances. The game against Pittsburgh was when Jay Ajayi began his emergence as one of the NFL's most promising young tailbacks.
Miami's inexperienced secondary which was struggling to that point locked down Steelers elite receiver Antonio Brown (one catch for six yards) and produced a couple of interceptions.
Miami's defensive line, which benefited from Cameron Wake and Andre Branch's promotion to starters that week, harassed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who hurt his knee during the game. Big Ben came back into the game, but wasn't the same. He ended up sitting out the next two games until his knee healed.
Outside of two missed field goals, that mid-October contest was a majestic performance from the Dolphins, and one the team used as a springboard because it injected confidence into Adam Gase's team.
"The Pittsburgh game is where we started finding our identity on the offensive side of the ball, and started playing complimentary football," said left tackle Branden Albert, who has only allowed two sacks all season as the cornerstone of a much-improved Dolphins offensive line.
"We know we're a good team. We knew it a long time ago," said nickel cornerback Bobby McCain. "At the beginning of the year we didn't put everything together and then we started coming along."
There have been a couple of hiccups since the win over the Steelers. Miami got embarrassed by the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Dolphins 38-6 in early December, and Miami endured a 35-14 shellacking from the New England Patriots last Sunday. But this team is confident about its chances on the road against Pittsburgh.
And why shouldn't they be considering how well Miami played the last time these two teams met?
The problem is the type of performance Miami had in that October game will be hard to recreate for a few reasons:
_The Dolphins aren't at home. Pittsburgh's defenders won't be struggling with the South Florida heat and suffering from dehydration like they were in the previous game which featured Steelers players throwing up on the field.
_Mike Pouncey isn't playing this time. Pouncey, who is on season-ending injured reserve because of a hip injury, was a major component of the offensive line's success seeing as how the Dolphins averaged 154 rushing yards in the games he played, and 95.6 in the games they've played without him.
_Reshad Jones and Isa Abdul-Quddus, the two safeties who pulled down game-altering interceptions against Pittsburgh in October, are both out with season-ending injuries. That means all the coverage schemes Miami successfully used against one of the NFL's most aggressive quarterbacks will likely get watered down.
The Steelers could also get Ladarius Green back from his concussion this week. Pittsburgh's starting tight end didn't play in the first game against Miami, and tight ends have feasted against Miami's defense all season.
Still, the Dolphins are thrilled to be one of the final 12 teams still playing because these opportunities don't come around too often. Just ask Wake, an eight-year veteran, who will be playing in his first playoff game on Sunday.
Or Albert, who has only reached the postseason three times in his nine-year NFL career.
"You got to make sure you finish," Albert said. "You need guys to step up in a timely moment."
No better time than the present for Dolphins players and coaches to save their best for what the odd makers say will be Miami's last game of the season.
But these Dolphins have been counted out and left for dead before, so why should things change now?
"Every game is elimination," Ajayi said. "We still have a chance to go get it."
